Working Together for Test Success

The Center for the Advancement of Informal Science Education defines informal STEM education as “lifelong learning in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) that takes place across a multitude of designed settings and experiences outside of the formal classroom.” The design of an informal experience can vary widely. On one end of the spectrum are free-choice learning experiences, where participants determine what they want to learn, when they want to do it, and how and with whom they want to study. On the opposite end of the spectrum is nonformal learning, which includes any organized educational activity outside the established formal system, whether operating separately or as an important feature of some broader activity that is intended to serve identified learning clienteles and learning objectives. Opinions on intentionality of design differ, with educators championing a variety of strategies on the informal education scale, from accidental learning to task-conscious and self-directed learning, and everything in between (Rogers 2014). However, while free-choice learning is valuable in its own right, it is on the task-conscious and self-directed end of the spectrum that formal and informal organizations have the greatest opportunity to collaborate and work toward achieving their shared goals for learning outcomes.